Chapter 150:Manaphy's Pokémon Egg! Fishing for Meltan

Glub, glub~

The swirling waters made it hard for Watanabe to see his surroundings.

The ocean water quickly enveloped him.

He was unable to breathe.

The pressure of the sea was overwhelming and unresistable!

The impact of the waves felt like large hands gripping Watanabe tightly, lifting him upward, then violently pushing him down to the seabed.

“Floatzel!”

Watanabe struggled desperately, trying to call for his Floatzel, but he couldn’t make a sound.

His vision blurred, and all he could hear was the roaring of the waves.

Shake~

In that moment, in his haze, Watanabe thought he saw a Pokémon swimming toward him.

“Manaphy!”

Light illuminated the waters.

Everything around fell quiet.

Watanabe realized he could breathe again.

“What is this…”

A Pokémon egg appeared in front of Watanabe.

He stared at it in shock.

“Manaphy~”

Watanabe heard its voice.

“No way, is this a Manaphy's egg?”

“Legends are real…”

“Floatzel!”

Floatzel leaped into the water and swam quickly toward Watanabe.

Watanabe hurriedly embraced the Pokémon egg.

Floatzel pulled Watanabe back to the shore.

“Cough, cough.”

Watanabe spat out seawater.

Once he collected himself, he looked at Floatzel and asked, “Floatzel, where’s Otakai?”

“Floatzel~”

Floatzel pointed toward the churning waters.

A Samurott swam to shore, carrying the middle-aged man from earlier.

Watanabe let out a sigh of relief.

“Cough, cough.”

Otakai rolled off Samurott.

He panted heavily, taking a while to regain his composure.

“Damn it, what was with that storm?”

Rain was pouring down from the sky.

The waves on the sea grew increasingly turbulent.

Watanabe looked dazed and said, “I don’t know.”

“But the sea seems a bit moody lately, which might also be a sign of happiness.”

“It’s possible the sea is feeling joyful.”

Otakai sat up.

He looked at Watanabe incredulously and said, “You call that happiness?”

“Though it’s true, you Water Tribe folks do have a different perspective on water than most.”

As he spoke, he suddenly noticed the Pokémon egg in Watanabe's hand. “What’s that?”

“A Pokémon egg?”

Watanabe looked down at the egg he was holding.

The shell of the Manaphy egg was transparent.

Inside the egg was a blue liquid resembling seawater.

This layer of blue liquid enveloped a bundle of yellow material.

“It’s nothing; let’s not talk about that.”

Watanabe shifted the topic. “Let’s head back for now.”

“It’s not very safe here right now.”

Whoosh~

The waves continued to roar.

The clouds churned, and heavy rain began to pour.

Deep in the ocean.

Inside an underwater submarine.

“Have we not yet found any trace of the Manaphy Pokémon egg?”

On the ship, a man with a distinct ASEAN appearance was chewing gum while looking at the technician sitting in front of the screen.

ASEAN refers to the Southeast Asia Pokémon League, composed of ten countries.

“The trace of Manaphy has completely disappeared.”

The technician turned to look at the man behind him. “We currently can't track its location.”

Tohn, a Malaysian from the ASEAN member states.

One of the top trainers in ASEAN.

“Is it possible that it was captured by the Japan league or that group from the West?”

The technician hesitated. “The situation was too chaotic at the time.”

“No one can be certain about that.”

“However, if it’s Lugia, I think the Manaphy Pokémon egg likely returned to the sea.”

According to historical legends, Manaphy travels with ocean currents until it can reopen the Temple of the Sea.

Inside the Temple of the Sea lies the treasure of the ocean.

Whoever obtains the sea treasure can become the King of the Sea and control the ocean.

This legend has drawn countless people toward the sea.

Thus, the Age of Exploration began!

However, to this day, no one has truly obtained this treasure.

In the age of modern technology, people have been monitoring the movements of the ocean currents closely.

Not long ago, a Pokémon egg suspected to be Manaphy appeared.

Leagues from various countries quickly gathered in the Atlantic Ocean.

They all aimed to escort Manaphy back to the Temple of the Sea under the pretense of wanting to obtain this legendary Pokémon.

The power to control the sea was a temptation no one could refuse; everyone was unwilling to let go.

As a result, a conflict erupted at sea.

Because it wasn't a glorious battle, ordinary people naturally wouldn't know about it.

However, their battle angered Lugia, the guardian of the ocean.

The Manaphy Pokémon egg was also nowhere to be found.

This battle impacted the coastal regions of multiple countries.

The recent typhoon incident in Japan was caused by a storm raised by Lugia at sea.

Of course, it wasn't just Japan that was affected.

Under Lugia's storm, the coastal city of Haeundae in South Korea was submerged by a tsunami, and Southeast Asian coastal countries also experienced varying degrees of impact.

Tohn shivered as he recalled the events of that day.

“The power of the sea god Lugia.”

“It’s truly terrifying.”

Tohn pondered for a moment and said, “Let’s retreat for now.”

“While we don’t know where the Manaphy Pokémon egg is right now, it will eventually hatch.”

“Manaphy is destined to return to the sea.”

Outside the submarine, the water flowed vigorously.

In the ocean, a Mantine leaped out of the water’s surface.

Towada Lake.

Whoosh~

“Got one!”

Natsume quickly pulled up the fishing rod in his hand.

Ripples spread across the river surface.

Amid the splashing water, a Meltan was caught.

“Eevee~”

Beside Natsume, the little Eevee let out a cheer.

The weather at Towada Lake was great today; it was a sunny day, though the temperature was a bit low.

In a month, it should start snowing here.

Natsume pulled the Meltan close and smiled. “What a great catch!”

Today, only two Eevee accompanied Natsume on his fishing trip.

Arcevee and the little Eevee.

Natsume's fishing rod was actually a tree branch.

A piece of vine was tied to a section of the branch, with screws hanging from the vine.

No amount of equipment can compare to having rich resources!

This river had plenty of iron ore beneath its surface, attracting many Meltan to gather here.

Natsume sat by the shore, securing a screw.

As soon as the screw hit the water, a Meltan would quickly rush in.

It felt just like fishing for crawfish.

“Meltan!”

However, this particular Meltan seemed to be in a bad mood.

It glared at Natsume and lunged out of its pouch to use Headbutt on him.

In Natsume’s eyes, the Inner Focus stirred slightly.

Meltan's Headbutt was ineffective.

“That’s a bit aggressive.”

“Arcevee, it’s your turn.”

“Eevee~”

Arcevee shook its fur.

“Meltan!”

Meltan stood in front of Arcevee, bouncing left and right and making punching gestures.

Arcevee looked at it and transformed into Flareon.

Meltan charged forward!

“Whoosh~”

Flareon took a deep breath.

Boom!

A torrent of flames erupted forth.

Meltan was instantly engulfed by the Flamethrower.

“Meltan!”

After the flames, Meltan staggered, falling flat on the ground in a 'T' shape.

The battle was over.

Meltan’s body was scorched black.

Natsume smiled at the burned Meltan, then took out a Poké Ball and threw it.

Bang~

Another Meltan was captured.

Natsume looked at the surface of the water.

There were still two Meltan below.

“We're almost at three hundred now.”

As he spoke, Natsume leisurely tied up another screw on the side.

Since there hadn’t been much to do these past couple of days, Natsume felt quite relaxed.

Plop~

The screw sunk into the water.

Rustle~

From the bushes behind Natsume, a voice echoed.

“Eevee.”

Arcevee looked toward the bushes.

“Jolteon~”

It was a Jolteon.

“Jolteon?”

Natsume looked at the Pokémon in surprise.

Though Natsume had prepared Thunder Stones for the Eevee on the farm, he was frustrated that none of them wanted to use them for evolution.

“Jolteon~”

Jolteon curiously observed Arcevee and the little Eevee next to Natsume.

It had been attracted by the commotion from the battle.

Towada Lake was vast and rich in resources, home to many Pokémon.

So it wasn’t surprising to encounter a Jolteon.

This Jolteon was at level 41—not too high, but not too low either.

Its ability was Volt Absorb.

“Jolteon~”

Arcevee transformed into Jolteon’s form.

“Jolteon.”

Jolteon looked surprised.

Arcevee and Jolteon began to communicate simply.

“Jolteon.”

Jolteon curiously looked at Natsume.

Arcevee told it that they were Pokémon from the farm.

There were many Eevee of the same kind living together there.

Jolteon was a naturally evolved Pokémon found in the wilderness's mines using a Thunder Stone.

It had lived alone in Towada Lake.

Thus, Arcevee invited Jolteon to the farm.

Jolteon was very interested in Arcevee's description and decided to visit the farm.

“No problem.”

Natsume smiled and said, “Once I pull up the last two Meltan, we’ll head out.”

Shake~

Just as Natsume was speaking, he felt a tug on the line.

“Here they come~”

This time, both Meltan were hanging on the screws.

“Meltan!”

The two Meltan were playful even in the air, competing for the screw while kicking at each other.

“Stop fighting, stop fighting.”

Natsume chuckled at the scene and then poured the remaining screws onto the ground.

“Here are some for you.”

“Meltan~”

The two Meltan paused for a moment upon seeing this, then immediately rushed in.

Their liquid bodies enveloped the screws, slowly beginning to melt them.

Natsume smiled at them. “Since you’ve eaten my stuff, you have to come with me now.”

Meltan patted its belly.

It was full and couldn’t move an inch.

“Meltan~”

Natsume took out a Poké Ball.

Shake~ Ding~.

Task Name: Meltan Big Gathering

Natsume put away his homemade fishing rod and said to Arcevee and the others, “Alright, let’s go.”

“Eevee~”

Natsume opened the teleportation portal.

“Eevee.”

Arcevee gestured for Jolteon to follow and jumped through first.

“Jolteon.”

Jolteon followed suit.

Natsume picked up the little Eevee and stepped into the teleportation portal last.

Whoosh~

As soon as Natsume stepped out of the portal, he felt a strong gust of wind.

“The wind is pretty strong.”

Natsume looked up at the sky.

Dark clouds were gathering overhead, and it looked like another heavy rain was coming.

This kind of weather was what Vaporeon loved the most.

In the river near the farm, Goldeen and Wishiwashi surfaced.

Squirtle and Mudkip rolled playfully in the mud at the water's edge.

Two little mud balls.

Most of the Eevee didn't like this kind of weather.

They were all gathered inside the cabin, lazily lying on the floor.

A few Meltan were squeezed in among them.

“Meltan, come over here.”

Natsume called two Meltan to his side.

“Come out, Meltan.”

The Meltan from the farm quickly understood Natsume’s intent when they saw the new Meltan he brought back.

“Meltan~”

Farm Meltan waved its hand, inviting the newcomers to follow.

Meltan would first lead them to recognize the farm's territory.

Jolteon looked around curiously.

It seemed very interested in this place.

From inside the cabin, Glaceon stepped out.

It curiously examined Jolteon.

“Natsume, it looks like it’s going to rain outside.”

Misaki came in behind Glaceon.

She noticed Jolteon and exclaimed, “Oh, Jolteon?”

“Is this child from outside?”

Natsume nodded slightly. “Yes, I just brought it back from outside.”

“Arcevee said it wanted to tour the farm, so I haven’t officially captured it yet.”

“Glaceon.”

At that moment, Glaceon spoke up.

If there was going to be a battle, Glaceon wanted to have a match with Jolteon.

There wasn’t any particular reason.

Glaceon simply wanted to know who was stronger: itself or Jolteon.

“Jolteon.”

Jolteon nodded slightly at Glaceon.

It also wanted to have a battle with Glaceon.

“Well then, let’s head to the battle arena.”

Natsume looked at Misaki and asked, “Do you want to join us?”

Misaki shook her head. “I’ll pass.”

“Good luck, you two.”

“Vaporeon~”

At that moment, Vaporeon walked out of the river.

Vaporeon wanted to see what was happening.

“Eevee~”

A few Eevee, more interested in the battle, rushed over.

“No problem, let’s go together.”

After Natsume finished speaking, he snapped his fingers.

He and the group of Eevee disappeared from their spot and reappeared next to the farm's gym venue.

Within the several battle arenas that the farm had set up, battles were currently taking place.

In front of Natsume, a Heracross was responsible for guarding the venue.

Its opponent was a Fighting-type Tauros.

“Tauros, unleash your Guts!”

The trainer of Tauros shouted, “Raging Bull!”

“Moo~!”

Tauros roared at Heracross and charged forward with all its might.

“Heracross!”

Heracross took a deep breath and focused all its attention.

Swat!

Heracross caught Tauros by its legs.

“Moo!”

With a roar, Tauros crashed into Heracross as it charged forward.

Heracross stumbled backward.

The ground was left marked with deep grooves.

Endure!

“Heracross.”

Heracross steadied itself and then threw Tauros down by its horns with force.

Whoosh~

Tauros was launched into the air.

Counter!

“Heracross!”

Heracross lifted Tauros and slammed it into the ground.

Bam~

The ground shook slightly.

Amidst the rising smoke, Tauros lost battle capability.

“Match ends: Tauros lost battle capability, so the winner is Heracross.”

Rotom, the referee, announced the results.

“Come back, Tauros.”

The challenger looked at Heracross with frustration. “It’s no wonder that the Bug-type from the farm gym is so powerful.”

The surrounding tourists and audience clapped in applause.

They discussed the recent battle: “Was that Endure used at the end?”

Someone asked nearby.

“Endure? I think it was Struggle Bug instead?”

His companion looked uncertain as well.

“No, it wasn’t.”

Natsume passed by them.

“Natsume gym leader?!”

The tourists exclaimed in surprise at the sudden appearance of Natsume.

Natsume clarified for them, “What Heracross used at the end was Endure followed by Counter.”

“Endure allowed Heracross to withstand Tauros’s charge, and Counter doubled that force back at Tauros.”

“That’s why Tauros was defeated so quickly.”